We finally managed to figure out what new feature differentiates upcoming Intel Z97 and H97 chipsets from the current 87-series. The really new thing is a PCIe M2. storage support that promises 67-percent faster performance than with SATA Gen 3.

In an ideal world this should result in same speed that you should be getting with SATA Express. By enabling this technology Intel is targeting high end gamers and people who care about data productivity. We expect that this feature will find its way to B97 chipsets, the business version of the 97-series chipset whenever Intel releases that one. PCIe storage is supported by Intel Rapid storage technology.

Both the Z97 and H97 come with 1x2 PCIe M.2 Storage Support while the rest of the chipset looks pretty much alike the Z87 and H87 and include three way graphics support, 14 USB ports from which 6 can be USB 3.0 and RAID 0/1/5/10, six SATA 6 Gb/s and a few other tricks.

We can only guess that new boards based on Z97 will definitely be prettier than the ones with Z87, you somehow have to sell a new product that very similar to the old one.

Zotac has launched yet another member of its mini-ITX motherboard lineup, the Zotac H87-ITX WiFi. Designed with Intel's 4th generation Core Haswell CPUs in mind, the new H87-ITX WiFi aims to please those that demand a compact PC without sacrificing performance or feature, according to Zotac.

As noted, the Zotac H87-ITX WiFi is based on mini-ITX form factor, is based on Intel's new H87 Express chipset and supports Intel LGA1150 socket CPUs. The feature list starts with two DDR3 DIMM slots with support for up to 16GB of memory, HDMI, DVI, Display Port and D-Sub (with supplied adapter) outputs, has four SATA 6Gbps ports, six USB 3.0 (two via header), six USB 2.0 ports (four via header), feature dual Gigabit LAN, has one PCI-Express x16 slot and comes with on-board 802.11n 300Mbps WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Zotac certainly managed to squeeze in a lot on this mini-ITX form factor and H87-ITX WiFi is worth looking into if you're after a high-performance gaming or living room PC in a tiny package.

Someone at ASRock has jumped the gun, letting distributors and retailers list a dozen Socket 1150 motherboards for Intel’s upcoming Haswell chips. Since we are dealing with 12 different SKUs and we don’t have the exact specs, we won’t go into details, so let’s cover the basics.

ASRock has two entry level mATX boards based on the B85 chipset. The B85M is the cheapest one, listed at €73 in Germany. It has just two DDR3 slots and no bells and whistles whatsoever. The B85 Pro4 is a bit more serious, as it has four memory slots and it is priced at €79.

Three H87 boards are in the mix as well. The H87M and H87M Pro4 are mATX boards priced at €81 and €86 respectively. The H87 Pro 4 is a full size ATX board, priced at €86. Of course, enthusiasts will probably go for Z87 boards and ASRock has four of them, priced between €112 and €129. They are the Z87 Pro3, Z87 Extreme3, Z87M Extreme 4 and Z87M Pro4. Sadly we don’t have the full specs at this time.

ASRock didn’t forget about the SFF crowd, either. It has three ITX boards to offer. The B85M-ITX is the cheapest one, priced at €81. The H87M-ITX and Z87E-ITX are priced at €102 and €153 respectively.

Haswell comes in Q2 2013 and we have already mentioned the launch window in a few previous articles.

The new platform is supposed to last through 2014. It uses the new LGA1150 socket, requiring new chipsets and new boards from the current 7 series chipset tailored for Ivy and Sandy Bridge Core processors.

The new overclocking king of Haswell chipsets is simply called Z87 and is represents the top breed of Intel’s 8-series desktop chipsets. It can support either PCIe 1x16, 2x8 or 1x8+ 2x4, something that should satisfy most gamers. The new chipset comes with integrated voltage regulators, I/O port flexibility (SATA,USB 3, PCIe ), comes with integrated triple display support via Haswell processor, HDMI, DVI, DP and eDP as well as good old VGA.

It doesn’t come with small business advantage technology support, Intel has the H87 for small business users, but it does include 14 USBs of which 4 are USB 3.0 ports. Of course, 6 SATA 6Gb/s, eight PCI express 2.0 5GT/s. two DIMM modules per channel are supported and the new chipset should also be good for overclocking.

Let’s not forget the Gigabit Ethernet MAC. Of course this chipset should be ready by Q1 2013 to meet the launch of the Haswell CPUs scheduled for Q2 2013.

According to the latest drop in the rumour puddle over at Digitimes, Intel is set to release its next 8-series chipset in April 2013.

According to Digitimes' industry sources, Intel plans to relears performance and mainstream Z87 and H87 chipsets in April 2013. These socket LGA1150 motherboards will replace the existing Z77, Z75 and H77 chipsets with LGA1155 socket and will pave the way for entry-level H81 chipset scheduled for June 2013.

The 22nm socket 1150 Haswell CPUs are expected aaround the same time so motherboard manufacturers expect great interes for the new 8-series chipset simply due to the fact that new socket is not backward compatible. Ivy Bridge is expected to have its peak in the Q4 2012.

As always, take these rumours with a grain of salt as schedules tend to change.